Three people shot in daylight armed robberies
Three people shot in daylight armed robberies
JAKARTA (JP): Three people were shot in two daring daylight
robberies within hours of each other on Wednesday, the thieves
escaping with a total of Rp 292 million (US$29,200) from attacks
in Jatinegara and Duren Sawit, East Jakarta.
The victims were identified as Stephanie, 55, who was shot in
the buttocks, Dwi Sariastuti, 21, shot in her thigh, and Asep
Awaluddin, 21, shot in the toes.
East Jakarta Police Chief Sr. Comr. Hidayat Fabanyo said both
robberies involved the same modus operandi but the thieves used
different motorcycles.
"So there's the possibility that the robberies are not
related...however, I find that very unlikely," he said.
"It's going to be difficult to identify the robbers because
they wore closed helmets."
Two men carried out the robbery in Duren Sawit at 3 p.m. After
shooting Dwi and Asep they stole Rp 167 million and fled on a
motorcycle near the Pondok Bambu flyover on Jl. Basuki Rachmat in
Pondok Bambu.
"One of the robbers fired the shots with an FN gun," Hidayat
said.
A Duren Sawit police officer told The Jakarta Post that at
about 2:30 p.m. a man identified as Andi wanted to sell off his
Honda Ferio sedan to a car showroom, Dian Motor, on Jl. Pahlawan
Revolusi, for Rp 103 million in cash.
"Andi refused to take a check from the showroom owner, Asep.
So, Andi's girlfriend, Dwi, drove Andi, Asep and one showroom
staffer, Ronni, in her Soluna sedan to the BCA bank in Pondok
Bambu," the officer who requested for anonymity said.
Asep withdrew Rp 167 million because he needed the rest for
his business, the officer said.
Bank staff had warned against carrying so much money in
daylight and asked if he needed security personnel to accompany
him, but Asep refused the offer.
Dwi drove on the way back to the showroom, with Andi in the
front passenger's seat and Ronni and Asep in the back.
"When the car reached the flyover, two men on a motorcycle,
wearing black jackets and closed helmets, sped to the side of the
car and made it stop," the officer said.
According to the officer: "One robber on the motorcycle got
off and fired two shots. One shot went through the window on the
driver's side, the other through the right-hand window of the
back seat where Asep was sitting. Dwi was shot in the thigh, and
Asep in his toes."
The robbers grabbed the bag containing Rp 167 million and sped
away.
"Dwi said she felt they had been followed from the bank," the
officer said.
Dwi was undergoing surgery at Yadika Hospital in East Jakarta.
The other robbery occurred about 11:30 a.m. when Stephanie, a
resident of Jl. A. Cipinang Muara in Jatinegara, got out of her
car in front of her house.
Two men on a motorcycle sped by, shooting Stephanie in the
backside.
"She was carrying Rp 125 million, which she had withdrawn that
day from Bank Bukopin in Jatinegara to pay her employees'
salaries. Stephanie has a small rice shop," an officer from
Jatinegara Police said.
"She stepped out of her car, was immediately shot, and the bag
she was carrying was snatched away by the robbers."
Stephanie was being treated at MMC Hospital in South Jakarta.
Wednesday's armed robberies are considered as the biggest this
year. Late in January, a gang of four snatched a huge portion of
Rp 950 million cash from bank employees on Jl. Raden Inten in
Duren Sawit, shooting a police officer and a driver using an FN
pistol in the process. (ylt)